Woman sentenced to 22-years imprisonment for stabbing newborn baby to death.

Phindile Sibiya was sentenced her to 22 years direct imprisonment for stabbing her female newborn and perverting the course of justice by the Mpumalanga High Court in South Africa.

The 26-year-old woman from Belfast, in the Bushbuckridge district, was sentenced on Wednesday, November 9, after she was found guilty for intentionally killing her newborn and burying her in a shallow grave.

Sibiya said in court that she met a particular man in 2021 who had previously paid a visit to her farmhouse in Belfast Trust.

She accepted the man’s proposal of love because he promised to marry her in the future.

On their second meeting, they engaged in consensual unprotected sex, which led to her being pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she tried calling the potential father to let him know about the situation, but his phone was out of service. It wasn’t until her mother became aware of the situation that she was able to call him. Despite being aware that she was pregnant, she lied when her mother asked her about it.

The mother threatened her, saying that if it turned out that she was pregnant, she would kick her out of the house because she already had two minor children from different men who weren’t providing for them.

She then made the decision to visit the clinic to end the pregnancy, but she was unable to do so because she was close to giving birth.

Until her due date, which was January 1, 2022, she hid her pregnancy. On three separate instances, she experienced labor pains, went to the bathroom, passed pee on each occasion, and on the third occasion, she also brought a pair of scissors.

She gave birth to a female baby on her way to the bathroom, and as soon as she delivered the baby, she repeatedly stabbed the baby with scissors till she died.

In the morning, her mother discovered blood stains and upon questioning her, the accused confessed having given birth and concealed the deceased.

Following her attempt to retrieve the dead body, the incident was reported to the police, leading to her conviction and subsequent punishment.